Grain auger attachment



March 12, 1963 E. F. RENSCH GRAIN AUGER ATTACI-MENT Filed April 13, 1959mx 3 mm X, M

3,080,960 GRAIN AUGER ATTACHMENT Eugene F. Rensch, Makoti, N. Dak. FiledApr. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 805,859 1 Claim. (Cl. 198-64) This inventionrelates generally to apparatus for loading and unloading a fluentmaterial such as grain and the like and is directed particularly to anattachment for use with an inclined lift elevator such as a grain auger.

An object of this invention is a novel portable compact attachment fortransferring fluent material such as grain from a storage bin or dumptruck to an elevating mecha- -nism having an endless conveyor systemsuch as a screw tachably and telescopically encloses the loading end ofa lift elevator and feeds all of the granular material direct- .ly tothe conveying means of the lift elevator without the use or need ofclamping or fixed attachment means.

A further object is an attachment of the class described which isreadily adaptable to lift elevators presently in use withoutnecessitating any modification whatsoever theren.

Still another object is a portable, readily attachable and removablegrain auger attachment of integral unitary construction which permitsthe granular material to be fed directly from a feeding or storagedevice such as the box of a dump truck to the elevator withoutcontamination or spillage thereof, and without interfering with theraising and lowering of said box;

A still further object is an attachment of the class described whichserves as a safety device by enclosing the exposed portions of theelevator in such a manner as to prevent hands, feet or mechanicalequipment from being caught therein while permitting ready access of thefluent granular material to the conveying system.

Still another object is an attachment of the class described which feedsor directs all of the fluent granular material directly to the conveyingmechanism of the lift elevator, thereby eliminating the necessity forthe tedious and time consuming job of cleaning up around the elevatorafter use.

Still another object is an attachment of the class described whichprevents spillage of the granular material on the surrounding area whenthe action of the lift elevator is momentarily interrupted.

Still another object is an attachment of the class described which islight in weight and easily handled.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to thesame or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elev-ational view of the attachment of my invention inassembled relationship with an anger type lift elevator and shown in useassisting to convey fluent granular material from a dump truck throughthe lift elevator to a storage bin;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the attachment; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

The attachment of my invention, as shown in a preferred form in thedrawings, consists of a cylindrical conveyor enclosing sleeve portion 5having a cross sectional opening 5a in the forward or leading endthereof for receiving the lower end of the lift elevator E and having amaterial receiving opening 6 in the rear upper portion and flaringupwardly therefrom is a hopper portion 7 of United States Patent 03,080,960 Patented Mar- 1 generally triangular configuration in the formshown, which is integrally united with the sleeve portion, the taperedsides 8 and back wall 13 thereof inclining inwardly or converging fromtop to bottom so as to surround the material receiving opening 6 in thesleeve and engage the upper marginal edges 6a of said opennig 6, as bestseen in FIG. 3, so as to direct all fluent granular material received bythe hopper portion directly into. and through said material receivingopening. The hopper portion] is preferably somewhat wide and shallow ordishshaped, rather than high and narrow, to prevent the hopper portioninterfering with the box B of the dump truck T when the box in tilted ata large'angle causing the lower end of said box to descend somewhat andthe material conveying apparatus such as the hopper H with it. The uppermarginal edge 17 of the hopper. portion is upturnedto a verticalposition. I i The material receiving opening 6 is provided with aplurality of parallel spaced apart arcuate guard members or bars 9 whichspan the width of the opening 6 and prevent passage of any sizableobject such as ahand or foot or the snout of a delivery chute whilereadily permitting the passage of the fluent granular materialtherethrough. These guard members 9 prevent injury or accident due to anobject such as a hand, foot or chute coming -incontact with theconveying mechanism, particularly in those instances when a worm typegear or auger such asthat shown in FIG. 1 by the reference numeral 15 isemployed. For convenience in carrying and transporting, the-. attachment is provided with a handle 10 disposed preferably close to thecenter of gravity of the attachment for properbalancing and ease incarrying. The underpojrtion of the attachment maybe option-ally providedwith supporting members such as the forwardly disposed legs Y11 and asingle stand 12 disposed at the rear to maintain the attachment inproper position and balance on the ground. The forwardly disposed legs11.are preferably 'of greater length than therearwardly;disposedlegorstand 12 in order that the attachment may be maintained at a properangle substantially parallel to the normal inclination of the elevatorso as to properly mate therewith. Or, as a satisfactory alternative, thesupporting unit may consist solely of the laterally extending bar member12 only disposed at the point where the underside of the attachmentwould normally rest on the ground when the attachment is in an inclinedposition.

To use, the elevator is properly positioned to receive the fluentgranular material from an enclosure such as the box B of a dump truck Tand the lower exposed end 14 thereof is simply raised a few inches andthe attach ment of my invention is thereupon slid over the lower endthereof with the exposed material receiving end 14 of the lift elevatorextending down into the sleeve so as to be contiguous with the closedend or back wall 13 of the sleeve and be properly positioned beneath thematerial receiving opening of the attachment so as to be properlydisposed for receiving and conveying the fluent granular material as itis delivered to the attachment through the hopper portion. The sleeveportion 5 is of suflicient length to engage the protective tube 16 whichsurrounds and encloses substantially the entire length of the auger 15so that the exposed material receiving portion of the auger 14 iscompletely enclosed by the attachment, except that portion which is inregister with the guarded material receiving opening 6 of theattachment.

Any suitable means may be employed for delivering the fluent granularmaterial to the hopper portion of the attachment. An example is thetruck mounted hopper H best seen in FIG. 1 which may have a fixed spout17 attachedthereto or may have an elongate flexible chute 18 attachedthereto and shown in FIG. 1 in dotted outlihe. The fluent granularmaterial flows from the box B of the truck T through the hopper H andspout 17 into the hopper portion 7 of the attachment where the sides ofsaid hopper portion 7 direct the material directly to the materialreceiving portion 14 of the auger through the guarded "opening 6, theauger then conveying the material upwardly through the tube 16 ofelevator E toa suitable receptacle, usuallysome sort of storage bin.

Lift elevators, particularly of the auger type, frequently have only thelower portion of the worm or screw conveyor mechanism exposed to view,the rest being enclosed for safetys sake. This attachment of myinvention subetan'tiallyencloses and surrounds this normally exposedportion of theauger and the sleeve portion in combina- "fi bl ljllviththe guard or bar members combine to, as a practical matter, eliminateany hazard or chance of a person's hand or foot being caught in thescrew conveyor. Also, the guard members prevent the delivery chute fromaccidentally coming in contact with the auger and 'sustaining damage toeither the auger 'or the chute.

From the foregoing description, the advantages of my invention arereadily apparent. The device is of simple tiesign and construction andrelatively inexpensive to make, is light in weight, and is adapted to beeasily carried-from place to place. By providing a suitable hopperportion in direct communication with the conveyor part or the auger, thegranular material is prevented from hpilling over onto the surroundingarea, usually the greund in the case of agricultural grains such aswheat "and the like, "and thus, not only prevents contamination operate,includin'gthe attachment and detachment thereof.

The shallow, dish-like shape of the hopper portion preventsinterferencewith the box B or truck-mounted hopper H, while at the same timeproviding a container of sufiicient capacity to prevent overflowing ofgranular material therefrom during use, and even during momentaryinterruptions.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

In a grain auger assembly, a unitary device for directing fluentgranular material to the exposed materialreceiving lower end portionthereof, said device comprising an elongate cylindrical sleeve memberadapted to removably and telescopically receive the exposed lower endportion of said auger, said sleeve member having substantially the upperhalf of the rear end portion thereof removed to form a materialreceiving opening in direct communication 'with the exposedmaterialreceiving portion of the auger, guard means comprising a part ofsaid device spanning said opening permitting the free passage of saidmaterial therethrough and preventing the passage of objectssubstantially larger than said material, the remaining semi-circularrear lower portion of said sleeve receiving and cradling therein asubstantial portion of the lower half of the auger periphery, inclinedside walls carried by said sleeve and connected to the marginal edges ofsaid sleeve defining the opening therein and forming a shallow hop'perportion for directing said fluent material onto the upper portion of theexposed portion of said auger, and leg means for supporting andmaintaining said device with its sleeve member in an upwardly inclinedposition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,467,682 Megargee Apr. 19, "1949 2,619,219 Carrol et al. Nov. 25, 19522,630,905 Howe Mar. 10, 1953 2,706,046 'Andrews Apr. 12, 1955 2,883,076Palmer Apr. 21, 1959 2,891,655 Saiberlich June 23, 1959

